How to Celebrate St. Lucia Day

Lucia Day ' aka Saint Lucy's Day ' on December 13 ranks among the most important days on the Swedish calendar. It honors a young Christian girl, martyred in ancient Rome, who is always portrayed with her head encircled by a halo of lights. Though it's not officially part of Advent, for many Swedes Lucia Day forms the gateway to the Christmas season.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Star Boy Hats
• Candleholders
• Candles
• Evergreens
• White Tapers
• Swedish Mulled Wines
• Ginger Cookies
• Lucia Crowns

1. Schedule your celebration for the weekend closest to the feast day if, in your book, authenticity takes a back seat to convenience and a good turnout.

2. Deck your table with a centerpiece designed to resemble Lucy's crown. Simply affix seven candle holders to a circle of evergreens and insert white tapers.

3. Use plenty of candles elsewhere too ' like most holidays during this dark time of the year, Lucia Day has light as its central theme. (Indeed, the name Lucia means "light.")

4. Serve your favorite brunch or tea fare along with julglögg (a Swedish mulled wine), a cake called Saint Lucy's crown, X-shaped buns called lussekattor and ginger cookies called luciapepparkakor.

5. Get the kids into the act (if they're game) by getting battery-powered Lucia Crowns for the girls and big, coned Star Boy hats for the boys. You can find both at Scandinavian import shops.

Tips & Warnings

• St. Lucy's Crown and lussekattor are made from the same saffron-infused yeast dough. You can find recipes for these, luciapepparkakor and julglögg in most Scandinavian and many holiday cookbooks.

• If you lack the time or the inclination to bake your own goodies, you can buy them ' or reasonable facsimiles ' at a bakery or gourmet deli.

• In traditional celebrations, the eldest daughter of the household dons a long white dress with a scarlet sash and a crown of lingonberry or whortleberry greenery set with flaming candles.

• If your daughter wants to wear a Lucia crown, make sure its candles are the battery-powered variety to avoid the risk of a fire.